Bereishis - three explanations from the Baal Shem Tov on "Bereishis bara Elokim" that give strength to enter the new year

00:00 The Frierdiker Rebbe relates, at one of his Shabbos Bereishis farbrengens, a story that the Tzemach Tzedek once heard from Reb Pinchas Reizes. Reb Pinchas Reizes was among the Alter Rebbe’s earliest chassidim. As is known, Reb Pinchas Reizes came from a Lithuanian family. His father was an important rabbi, the rabbi of Shklov, Reb Chanoch Shklover. Reb Pinchas became close to the Alter Rebbe, and there is a lengthy story about it. He was one of the chassidim who would repeat the maamarim and write them down. Many of the Alter Rebbe’s maamarim were recorded by him. He was among the greatest of the Alter Rebbe’s chassidim. He told the Tzemach Tzedek that once, in the early years, on Shabbos Bereishis, the Alter Rebbe read from the Torah. As is known, the Alter Rebbe was a Torah reader and would regularly read the parsha. There are many stories about his extraordinary reading—about the way the Alter Rebbe chanted the trop—and many stories are told about his Torah reading. His eyes were covered by his tallis, and [unclear] how he read. When he reached the beginning of the parsha, Parshas Bereishis, he began reading the words “Bereishis bara Elokim”—“In the beginning, G-d created”—and entered a state of profound spiritual absorption. He wrapped himself in his tallis, and his head

01:43 rested on the Torah scroll for a long time. Afterward, he emerged from that state and continued: “es hashamayim ve’es ha’aretz”—“the heavens and the earth.” The Tzemach Tzedek said about this—as Reb Pinchas Reizes related to him—that surely his grandfather, meaning the Alter Rebbe, had been contemplating the Baal Shem Tov’s teaching on this verse. What is the Baal Shem Tov’s teaching on the verse? He shared a point from the Baal Shem Tov’s teaching on “Bereishis bara Elokim es hashamayim ve’es ha’aretz”: The Baal Shem Tov explains that “bereishis,” what must come first, the first matter in a person’s service of Hashem, is “bara.” He interpreted the word “bara” as meaning revelation. That, too, is a meaning of “bara,” as we see in the creation of the world. One of its meanings is to reveal. “Bara Elokim”—one must reveal the purpose within the name Elokim, reveal the purpose within the concealment and hiddenness associated with the name Elokim. So, bereishis, at the beginning of one’s service, one must reveal “bara Elokim,” reveal the inner meaning of the name Elokim. How does one reveal it? Through “es hashamayim ve’es ha’aretz.” By contemplating “the heavens and the earth,” by contemplating the affairs of the world, the earth and the heavens, and the creation of the world, one comes, through the heavens and the earth, to understand the inner purpose of the name Elokim. And this

03:29 brought the Alter Rebbe into a profound state of spiritual absorption. We are now at Shabbos Bereishis, and the saying attributed to the Tzemach Tzedek is well known: The way one positions oneself on Shabbos Bereishis is the way the entire year goes. Before that is the point in the saying he quotes from the Alter Rebbe, who said that the illumination of Shabbos Bereishis shines on all the Shabbosim of the year. And before that is a teaching of the Baal Shem Tov, who said that the light of Shabbos Bereishis illuminates every day of the year, particularly the special days. For each person has special days during the year: joyous days, days of bar mitzvahs, brissim, and weddings, and so on, or other special days. All of them receive vitality from Bereishis, from Shabbos Bereishis. So we see that our Rebbeim have given us lofty teachings about Shabbos Bereishis. And as he says there in that same sicha, when chassidim held a strong farbrengen on Shabbos Bereishis, it affected the entire year. As we said in the Tzemach Tzedek’s saying: The way one positions oneself on Shabbos Bereishis is the way the entire year goes. Let us now go over three

05:08 explanations, three points from the Baal Shem Tov’s teachings on the verse “Bereishis bara Elokim,” which are three aspects of serving Hashem that give us strength for the whole year. For a person to receive strength for the whole year, one must contemplate the matter itself, contemplate Shabbos Bereishis. Through this, we receive strength for the entire year. This is always true, and especially at the time in which we now find ourselves, a time of “it is a time of distress for Yaakov,” and certainly, “from it he will be saved”—a time when we need vitality, strength, and confidence. We receive these by contemplating the teachings the Baal Shem Tov revealed to us. This will give us strength in these days, these difficult days, when “darkness will cover the earth and thick darkness the nations.” When we think about and contemplate what the holy Baal Shem Tov revealed to us, it will give each of us strength, confidence, and faith to stand firm and see the light that, with Hashem’s help, will emerge from the darkness. Yes, “from it he will be saved”—from the darkness will come the true light, the light that will illuminate all the worlds: “Arise, shine, for your light has come, and the glory of Hashem has risen upon you,” with the true and complete Geulah. Now, when we look at the words “Bereishis bara Elokim,” the word “bara” has

06:40 three meanings. The simple meaning of “bara” is “created,” “brought into being.” The Ramban writes in his commentary at the beginning of Sefer Bereishis: “In the Holy Tongue, we have no term for bringing something into being from nothing other than bara.” In other words, what word in the Holy Tongue can express creation from nothing—a situation in which nothing existed, and a new existence came into being? That word is “bara”: something new was created, coming from absolute nothingness and becoming an existing thing. That is the first meaning of “bara,” the simple meaning of the verse. Then there is the second meaning, which we discussed earlier: the Baal Shem Tov’s teaching that the Alter Rebbe spoke about—or as the one who related the story recounted the Alter Rebbe’s words on that Shabbos Bereishis—that “bara” has another meaning. “Bara” also means revelation. As brought in the Mishnah in Chullin, which says, “lest it break through,” and Rashi explains: “Lest it break through—it was punctured and came out.” This concerns the laws of treifos, a case in which a hole formed and something came out, from the [unclear], and so on. The expression is “lest it break through,” and it means “it was punctured and came out.” In other words, “bara” also means revelation. And the third meaning of “bara” is related to health: to make something healthy. Now,

08:18 all three of these meanings are explained in the Baal Shem Tov’s teachings, and they are three foundations of Chassidus, of the Baal Shem Tov’s teachings. When we contemplate these three ideas, we draw strength from them—especially in the difficult moments each of us is experiencing—to strengthen our faith and confidence that “the Guardian of Yisroel neither slumbers nor sleeps,” and that very, very soon we will see the light within it, all the miracles and wonders that Hakadosh Boruch Hu will show us, each and every one of us. I will begin with the Baal Shem Tov’s teaching on the simple meaning of “bara”—creation. What is the meaning of “Bereishis bara Elokim es hashamayim ve’es ha’aretz”? The Baal Shem Tov revealed, as brought in Tanya, in Shaar Hayichud Vehaemunah, where his words on the verse “Forever, Hashem, Your word stands firm in the heavens” appear right at the beginning of the section. The Baal Shem Tov’s new insight is that the creation of the world—what we mean when we say “In the beginning, G-d created the heavens and the earth”—is not something that happened only once, five thousand seven hundred and eighty-something years ago, when the world was created, and since then the world has stood and Hakadosh Boruch Hu [unclear]. Rather, the Baal Shem Tov revealed, based on the Midrash, that “Forever, Hashem, Your word stands firm in the heavens”:

09:45 that the word of Hashem, the speech of Hakadosh Boruch Hu—“And Elokim said, ‘Let there be light,’” “Let there be a firmament,” “Let the earth bring forth vegetation”—means that the creation of the world recurs and takes place anew at every single moment. Hakadosh Boruch Hu creates the world at every moment. This is the deeper meaning of the simple reading of “Bereishis bara,” according to the Baal Shem Tov’s teachings: Hakadosh Boruch Hu, through His infinite power, creates something from nothing at every single moment. And this follows necessarily from the very nature of creation from nothing, as the Alter Rebbe explains in Tanya. If the cause of the world—its creation—is not a one-time event, that is, if it comes into being anew from nothing at every moment, then the point is clear: the world does not create itself. When we understand what the Ramban says, that the world was created from nothing, from absolute nothingness, it means that before creation there was no world at all. In other words, anything that was not G-dliness was utterly absent. Yes, in the familiar expression—I see in it an allusion to the Baal Shem Tov’s words... Before the creation of the world, G-dliness is the true existence, the one and only existence. There is no other existence, and it is not even possible to speak of any existence besides Hakadosh Boruch Hu. Without Him, nothing at all could exist. And so existence came into being.

11:07 of the world. Something that had been utterly nonexistent came into being. And who can bring the world into being, when its very existence is something new? The only One who can cause something to come into being from nothing at all is Hakadosh Boruch Hu. A created being cannot create something new out of nothing. Only Hakadosh Boruch Hu Himself can. In the well-known words the Alter Rebbe quotes in Tanya: “His Being and Essence, Whose existence is from Himself, and Who has no cause or reason that preceded Him, G-d forbid.” Hakadosh Boruch Hu Himself is the only One who can make something from nothing. And because creation is something new—that is, before it was created, it did not exist—it has no existence of its own at any moment. It is not as though it simply happened, and from then on its existence can be taken for granted. It cannot be taken for granted. On the contrary, left to itself, it would not exist. A creation that has been brought into being is new by its very nature, and therefore it is brought into being anew every moment. In other words, at every moment it is evident that, in truth, there is nothing besides Hakadosh Boruch Hu Himself. And He, Who can do anything, brings it into being anew; He creates the beginning. This comes from His power, the power of the Infinite. He renews it at every moment; in His goodness, He renews it. He makes everything from nothing. [unclear] that at every moment He makes

12:29 the world from nothing. This is how we understand “In the beginning, G-d created the heavens and the earth.” And this is the plain meaning: Hakadosh Boruch Hu creates the world at every moment. This is [unclear] of the Baal Shem Tov. And it gives a person peace of body and peace of mind. It gives a person the greatest strength to go out into the world. After the days of spiritual arousal in the month of Tishrei—in Tishrei, generally, one lives with G-dliness within the world. Rosh Hashanah is about teshuvah; then there are Yom Kippur, Sukkos and Simchas Torah. A person is in a state that has nothing at all to do with [unclear]. He is occupied with Torah and mitzvos. He is occupied with the shofar, with teshuvah, with Tanya, with joy, with mitzvos, with the lulav, with the sukkah, and with all the celebrations of Simchas Torah. He is surrounded by them, surrounded by Torah and mitzvos. He is entirely immersed in Torah, entirely immersed in holiness. And when Simchas Torah passes and he enters the weekdays, the time comes for the well-known expression “And Yaakov went on his way”—a person goes on his way, his own path. Everyone has his own affairs: earning a living, other concerns, serving Hashem. One person [unclear], another [unclear]. And everyone goes about his affairs, his work in daily life. Then it becomes very difficult. Well, how will I withstand the challenges? There is the yetzer hara; there is Pharaoh. [unclear] Pharaoh. [unclear] And what should happen? [unclear] What is the situation? What is happening? What is happening in Eretz Yisroel, rachmana litzlan? The situation is that you are standing in complete darkness and [unclear]. [unclear] with the situation. That—

14:25 rachmana litzlan, in the situation a person finds himself in, with the Torah inside. A person may fall into deep gloom. And he thinks: Where can I find the strength to face everything that gets in my way? The first thing to understand is “In the beginning, G-d created the heavens and the earth.” When a person remembers that Hakadosh Boruch Hu creates the world at every moment from absolute nothingness, and that all of creation is nothing but the Divine power, one thing is clear: there is no existence besides Hakadosh Boruch Hu. So there cannot be anything that truly stands in a person’s way in his service of Hashem. There cannot be anything that can truly confuse him in his service of Hashem. True, there are difficulties and confusion, and we see that a person lives in a state of exile in this world. So what are they? They are only tests, and a person must stand firm through a test. Hakadosh Boruch Hu places a person before tests. A test is not meant merely to break him, cast him aside or weaken him. On the contrary. It is written that the word for a test is related to raising up: “For Hashem your G-d is testing you, to know.” Through tests and difficulties, a person grows stronger; he grows. He gains a deeper understanding and comes to know the truth more profoundly—the real truth about the world and about Hakadosh Boruch Hu. This is the first explanation: Hakadosh Boruch Hu takes the test, and light emerges from it, and He shows us the truth, the truth about the world as it really is. The Alter Rebbe discusses this at length in Tanya, especially in Igeres Hakodesh 11. There the Alter Rebbe speaks about suffering, rachmana litzlan, and other things that bring confusion into a person’s life. And the Alter Rebbe explains that when a person holds fast to faith, to the Torah’s teaching that Hakadosh Boruch Hu is the Creator and the One Who rules over everything—how could it be otherwise? If he believes that Hakadosh Boruch Hu is present

16:20 at every moment, in every detail, in every part of his life, how can there be worries, troubles and things that confuse him? After all, he knows that Hakadosh Boruch Hu is entirely good, and that “no evil comes from Him,” rachmana litzlan. With the Master of the Universe, everything is good; may it be revealed as open and visible good. And when this faith is firmly rooted in him—true faith, as in “Bereishis,” that Hakadosh Boruch Hu creates us at every moment—then “strength and joy are in His place.” Even when things are difficult, there should be an expression of joy. And the Rebbe concludes in chapter 11: When a Jew holds fast to faith even when he has difficulties in his service, when things are concealed and hidden from him, and he strengthens his faith, Hakadosh Boruch Hu will treat him measure for measure. He will remove the concealments and reveal that “in the light of the King’s countenance is life.” Then the supreme good will be revealed and will come down as open and visible good, seen by our physical eyes. This is the explanation of the first interpretation of “Bereishis bara Elokim,” based on the deeper meaning taught by the Baal Shem Tov. And here we come to the second interpretation: that the meaning of bara is related to revelation. This teaching of the Baal Shem Tov is cited in the story about the Alter Rebbe at the time of the distribution of the cups, where it says that the explanations were based on the Baal Shem

17:56 Tov’s teaching about “Bereishis bara Elokim”—that bara is related to revelation. What is the deeper meaning here in the Baal Shem Tov’s teaching? Here we take another step: it is not only about the creation of the world, that Hakadosh Boruch Hu creates us at every moment. Here there is something particular about the name Elokim. As is known, the name Elokim is associated with tzimtzum, contraction. Elokim has the same numerical value as hateva, “nature.” In other words, the name Elokim is, of course, a holy name, a name of Hakadosh Boruch Hu, but it is the name associated with the attribute of judgment. And Rashi says at the very beginning of the Chumash that the thought arose to create the world with the attribute of judgment. The name Elokim is associated with judgment, might, contraction, concealment and hiding. That is, as is well known and explained at length, there are two names, two general names: the name Havayah and the name Elokim. The name Havayah is associated with the attributes of kindness and mercy, and the name Elokim with judgment, might and contraction. About this, the verse in Tehillim, chapter 84, says: “For Havayah Elokim is a sun and a shield.” Why are these two names, Havayah and Elokim, compared to a sun and a shield? When you look into the sun, there is fire, flame and light; they are so intense that a person cannot bear them. The Gemara in Avodah Zarah says that in the future,

19:33 when Hakadosh Boruch Hu takes the sun out of its sheath, it will be impossible to bear. After all, “the wicked are judged by it,” as our Sages say regarding Sukkos and the time to come. The sun, the light of the sun, is such a powerful fire that the world cannot bear it. If it were to shine even a little more brightly than it does now, the entire world would burn up and could not withstand it. Therefore, there is a sheath, a shield. What is the shield? Something natural within the sun itself that prevents its light from spreading more than it should, so that created beings can bear it, receive it and live with it. Similarly, there are two names: the name Havayah and the name Elokim. For Hakadosh Boruch Hu is infinite and without limit, and He is Havayah—He was, is and will be as one—beyond time and beyond space. This is the blessed Infinite Light. And He is the true Creator; He is the One Who creates the world. As we discussed earlier, this is the name Havayah; He is the true Creator of all the worlds. As it says in Tehillim, which we recite in prayer every day: “Let them praise the name of Havayah, for He commanded and they were created.” The name Havayah is the One Who commands that there be a world, and the world is created. But if creation were only from the name Havayah and not from the name

20:48 Elokim, the world was in a state where G-dliness shone with such intensity that, because of the overwhelming light, the world was utterly nullified. The world stood in such a state of self-nullification, such devotion, such loss of self within G-dliness, that it had no independent existence at all. But Hakadosh Boruch Hu wanted a Jew to serve Him of his own free choice, through his own efforts. He wanted that service to have all the qualities He intended: that a Jew would serve Hakadosh Boruch Hu, choose Him of his own free will, and devote himself to Him. It would thus be the Jew’s own service, and he would receive the great reward, as is explained at length on this subject. That is why there is the attribute of judgment and the tzimtzum. But sometimes, because of the great concealment of the name Elokim—Elokim has the same numerical value as hateva, “nature”—and because of the coverings of the name Elokim, there can be so many layers of concealment that, G-d forbid, a state of harsh judgments arises. To the point that when one looks at the world, G-d forbid, one can forget and fail to see the Master of this palace. Particularly when such things happen, things of deep and compounded darkness, and because of the many coverings and layers of concealment of the name Elokim, everything becomes so hidden, so covered,

22:17 that one could, G-d forbid, think there is no G-dliness here. The familiar question can arise, as the verse says: “Is Havayah among us or not?” Is there G-dliness in the world? A doubt arises. This is the exile of the Shechinah. And to this we say: “Bereishis.” What is the task of a Jew on Shabbos Bereishis? “Bara”—the task is to reveal. “Bara,” in other words, is the revelation of Elokim: to reveal the inner intent of the name Elokim. Not, G-d forbid, to negate the name Elokim, but to reveal its inner dimension. For the very reason Hakadosh Boruch Hu wanted the name Elokim is so that through it one would come to a much deeper grasp of the name Havayah. For Havayah is Elokim. And this is what we say seven times on Yom Kippur, in the verses declaring G-d’s oneness recited at Ne’ilah: “Havayah is Elokim,” “Havayah is Elokim,” seven times. A Jew should grasp, within the name Elokim and within the concealment, within the coverings of nature, and even within things that seem, G-d forbid, to be the very opposite—he should grasp the inner meaning and intent: that the entire purpose of the concealment is to make possible the service of the only son, which we discussed at length during Tishrei. The reason Hakadosh Boruch Hu hides is precisely so that a Jew will uncover this. So that a Jew will reveal the inner intent and see within nature what is

23:44 beyond nature. And when a Jew reflects on this and grasps it from the heavens and the earth—he contemplates the heavens and the earth and sees: yes, through this contemplation he realizes that the entire existence of the name Elokim is actually an expression, a revelation, and is connected to the name Havayah, which is beyond nature. Then “May Havayah shine His countenance upon you”: Hakadosh Boruch Hu reveals Himself to him, and he, too, sees the truth. “Havayah is Elokim” shines for him; what is beyond nature shines for him within nature itself. This is the second point, the inner intent of the name Elokim. Its entire purpose is to reveal a view into the depth, the richness, the truth, the depth of Hakadosh Boruch Hu’s power and His greatness, which are revealed specifically through concealment. From here we come to the third point, the Baal Shem Tov’s third interpretation, as the Rebbe said then in a maamar in Torah Or, [unclear]. The Midrash [unclear]. Torah Or [unclear] was the year from which the world was created [unclear]. Now, “Bereishis”: as the Rebbe quotes in the maamar in the name of the Baal Shem Tov, he interprets “bara” as related to “health,” and “Bereishis bara Elokim” means that nature must be healed. That is, as the Rebbe explains, this is the point we discussed earlier, that—

25:06 the Rebbe says the world is brought into being at every moment, something from nothing. There, too, creation takes place through the coverings of nature, the concealing coverings of the name Elokim. A person must contemplate the truth that “Havayah is Elokim,” that within nature is what is beyond nature. But as we discussed earlier, sometimes the many concealing coverings bring about, G-d forbid, a state of illness. Nature becomes sick. In other words, sick nature is a state in which a person sees things in nature in which, G-d forbid, he cannot discern G-dliness. He may even come to feel: What is happening here? A person becomes lost and asks: Where is Hakadosh Boruch Hu in all of this? [unclear]. That is what it means for there to be, G-d forbid, a fracture in nature, a state of illness that disrupts nature. To this we say, “Bereishis bara Elokim.” “Bereishis”—for the sake of the Torah, for the sake of the Jewish people. The whole coming-into-being of the world should not be seen merely as one detail after another. A person must reveal “bara Elokim,” heal the power found there, by standing firm in his faith, by standing firm in his trust, and by contemplating

26:29 this very matter, and by [unclear] Hakadosh Boruch Hu, standing firm and knowing the truth, that “Havayah is Elokim”—that is the meaning of the word “bara.” He heals nature, heals “Elokim,” which has the same numerical value as “hateva,” and reveals the truth again, the absolute truth: Havayah forever, the revelation of the name Havayah, what is beyond nature within nature. One sees Hakadosh Boruch Hu as He shines in the world. I was once with the Rebbe at a farbrengen on Shabbos Bereishis. It was 19 Tammuz. The Rebbe delivered a very interesting sicha then. He asked: We say that how one positions oneself on Shabbos Bereishis is how the entire year goes. Yes, meaning that from Shabbos Bereishis we receive strength for the whole year. But when we look at Parshas Bereishis, it is not just the first verse. Parshas Bereishis contains many events, many stories. Among them are stories that are deeply painful. The whole story of Kayin and Hevel, G-d forbid, what happened there when Kayin killed Hevel: “The voice of your brother’s blood cries out to Me from the ground.” The story of the sin of the Tree of Knowledge—from there, from that sin, stem the whole matter of death to this day, the entire history of evil in nature, the entire history of the world. And of this parsha we say that how one positions oneself on Shabbos Bereishis is how the entire year goes—how can we say that? The Rebbe said then that—

27:53 really, why ask specifically about Shabbos Bereishis? The question applies to Parshas Bereishis itself. We can ask the same question: How do we look at the parsha? The parsha says, “And Elokim saw all that He had made, and behold, it was very good.” Hakadosh Boruch Hu looks at the world, and the Torah is truth; the Torah is life. Hakadosh Boruch Hu Himself says, “And Elokim saw all that He had made, and behold, it was very good.” Yet in that same parsha, as soon as we read on, we encounter the story of Kayin and Hevel, the story of Adam and Chava, the story of the sin of the Tree of Knowledge, Noach, and [unclear]. And still—“very good”? Should we say that “And Elokim saw” refers only to that one point, before all the [unclear]? When we then see these things, it is very hard to understand. Yet we see in the Torah that this is true, in the fullest sense of truth: “And Elokim saw all that He had made, and behold, it was very good” remains true even after we go on to read the bitter stories the Torah tells. Do you understand what I mean? And the Rebbe cites the words of our Sages, what the Midrash says about Rabbi Meir. The Midrash also says that Rabbi Meir had a Torah scroll. Rabbi Meir, one of the Tannaim, wrote a Torah scroll, and in Rabbi Meir’s Torah it said: “And Elokim saw all that He had made, and behold, it was very good”—

29:15 It was written, “good—death.” There were other differences in Rabbi Meir’s Torah as well. I’ll mention one of them, which appears in the parsha: “And He made them garments of skin.” For Adam and Chava, after the sin of the Tree of Knowledge, He made garments of skin. In the Torah scroll, “skin” is written with an ayin, meaning actual skin. In Rabbi Meir’s Torah, it was written “light,” with an aleph. And these two differences are connected: Rabbi Meir was one of those holy souls for whom his name described him—Meir, “one who illuminates.” The Gemara says that he “illuminated the eyes of the Sages.” He saw the inner dimension; the truth of the Torah was visible to him at its greatest depth, so much so that the Gemara says, “His colleagues could not grasp the full depth of his thinking,” because of its tremendous depth. For Rabbi Meir, the inner dimension of things shone. And he saw how “very good” is “good—death.” In other words, precisely where the greatest darkness is found—in matters of death, the Angel of Death, the yetzer hara, and the affairs of this world—when a Jew stands firm, transforms them, and does his work through teshuvah, he transforms darkness into light and bitterness into sweetness. It is precisely there that “good—death” becomes “very good.” Within the worlds and their concealments, the greatest and deepest light is revealed, the greatest and deepest richness in G-dliness.

30:41 And so, too, the skin written with an ayin is worked and transformed until it becomes light written with an aleph. This is the whole work a Jew does in the world, for which souls descended below and were clothed in a body and an animal soul, which are like garments of skin written with an ayin. Chassidus explains that these are the concealing garments of materiality—the body and the animal soul. And this must be the inner focus of the work. Chassidus explains “garments of skin, and He clothed them” [unclear]: to work the skin, to work on the material of the body and the animal soul, and to make oneself a vessel for G-dliness. And it is specifically through this work. This is the message of Shabbos Bereishis that the Rebbe spoke about. When Shabbos Bereishis arrives, we read a whole parsha, and in it we do indeed read about Kayin and Hevel, the sin of the Tree of Knowledge, and Noach, [unclear]. But from this you must understand that not only did none of these become an obstacle to making a vessel, G-d forbid; on the contrary, it is precisely through all this concealment and this entire descent—a descent for the sake of ascent. When a Jew stands strong in faith and trust, and grasps that “Hashem is Elokim” within nature, he reveals [unclear] within Elokim; he reveals the inner dimension. Since the entire purpose of this concealment is to reach a higher level in Hashem, through this he brings it forth—

32:00 from within nature. Then we see openly, with our physical eyes, specifically in the material world below, that “Hashem is Elokim.” Then, [unclear], everything turns from darkness to light. Then “May Hashem shine His face upon us forever” is fulfilled, and we see it happen for every Jew in practice. We are in the days just after Simchas Torah, which this year was [unclear], and we saw, may Hashem protect us, a concealment of His face on Simchas Torah. That [unclear] should happen specifically on Simchas Torah—that is the greatest [unclear]. For that is when “Yisroel and the King are alone together”; the Rebbe establishes [unclear]. May this become visible to our physical eyes in the last days of Tishrei, as we enter Shabbos Bereishis, and may we indeed see it fulfilled. Concerning the order of creation, it says, “And the spirit of Elokim hovered over the face of the waters,” and as the Midrash says, “This is the spirit of Moshiach.” May we see the spirit of Moshiach, which was already part of the intent of creation from its very beginning. For the entire purpose of creation, of “In the beginning, Elokim created,” is to reach the spirit of Moshiach. The time has already come, “for the appointed time has arrived,” and Jews are crying out: Moshiach! And already it is possible [unclear] for the inner dimension of “In the beginning, Elokim created” to be revealed within the darkness. “And Hashem will be King over all the earth,” with the true and complete Geulah through Moshiach Tzidkeinu.